Azerbaijanis living in Russia should not rush to leave the country, but should instead strengthen their position there, Azerbaijani analyst Elchin Alioglu said in comments to Prime TV Azerbaijan.
According to Alioglu, many Azerbaijanis in Russia have spent years building their lives, businesses, homes and family networks there. For that reason, he said, calls for them to return to Azerbaijan are not always realistic or helpful.
“Why should they leave? They worked for years, created conditions for themselves and their children. This is the result of their labor,” Alioglu said.
The analyst argued that the Azerbaijani community in Russia should become more organized and influential, rather than retreat from public life. In his view, Azerbaijanis should be more active in education, business, municipal work, law enforcement, public administration and politics.
Alioglu said Azerbaijani families in Russia should encourage their children to receive strong education and seek careers in major institutions, including at the municipal, regional and federal levels.
“Strengthen the diaspora. Send your children to the best universities. Help them build careers. Azerbaijanis should be represented in different structures and at different levels,” he said.
He also noted that the period when Azerbaijanis in Russia often faced pressure from street nationalist groups is largely in the past. Today, Alioglu said, the main issue is whether the diaspora can organize itself and defend its interests.
The analyst also touched on national identity, saying that Azerbaijanis who live abroad should not be rejected simply because they speak Azerbaijani poorly, grew up in a different cultural environment or are part of mixed families.
In his view, mixed marriages are not the problem. The real concern, he said, is losing a sense of national identity.
“Nations develop when they interact with others. The issue is not mixed marriages. The issue is forgetting one’s roots,” Alioglu said.
At the same time, Alioglu sharply criticized symbols that he said are associated with Russian imperial thinking and support for aggression. He said Azerbaijanis should be careful about symbols that may be perceived as approval of expansionist policies.
Overall, Alioglu’s message was that the Azerbaijani community in Russia should not disappear from public life, but should become stronger, more educated and more visible.
He said Azerbaijanis in Russia should work toward becoming one of the country’s most influential diasporas.
AZE.US